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Enjoy It All Instead!

Are you drowning in art projects from school? Do you have every worksheet your child has ever completed? Have stacks after stacks of pictures your child has colored for you taken over all of your drawers in your desk?

If you are like me, you keep everything that your child brings home to you from school or creates at church or home. Even if you try to contain these items, they seem to multiply in the drawer. As a parent, you feel such guilt for even thinking of getting rid of just a few of them.

With just a few tricks and a little time each month, you can control the clutter and enjoy each of these pieces on a regular basis.

Scan it. Scan each piece of work and import the pictures into your home computer. Before you begin scanning, you will need to determine how you would like to organize and maintain the items. I personally have scanned by year. Then, on your computer, create new folders under the appropriate directory on your computer. Next, simply begin scanning the items. Tag the scanned picture and store to the appropriate folder on your computer.  

Snap it. Some items that are created are just not going to fit into a scanner at this point in time. Have your child hold their special project and snap their picture with the item. Upload the photograph to your computer under the same folder structure you would have used if you had scanned.  

Frame it. Together, you and your child should pick one item from each year, or more if you choose, to frame. You can hang in your child's room, playroom, hallway, or anywhere you choose. For extra special framing, have your local jewelry or trophy store create an engraved plate to affix to the frame. The engraved plate should include the year of the piece of art and any other pertinent information you want to be sure to maintain.

Since you now have the majority of your child's work on your computer, select the folder to be used by your computer for your screensaver. Be sure to backup these files to make sure you keep them if you ever have problems with your computer.

Your child will be so proud to see his work now hanging in your home and displayed often on your screensaver. You will also notice visitors enjoying these works when they visit.

Photo Credit © Shariff Che' Lah | Dreamstime.com

BarefootMommies.com, run by Angela Roy and Krissy Carr, is a bright, friendly blog for mothers. The blog spotlights great finds in jewelry, toys, crafts, and more; it also sponsors regular giveaways for its readers.

"I made this blog (BarefootMommy at the time) in November 2008," explains Krissy. "I met Angela through Etsy; I was asking her if she'd like to do a giveaway on BarefootMommy. Of course she said yes, and our personalities just hit it off. Since then, she's been my partner in crime and I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have her. Sure wouldn't have a great blog, I know that. She is one of my best friends and I love her tons!"  

Angela adds, "Barefoot Mommies has grown from just the two of us to a whopping 12 reviewers and five guest speakers. We have worked with so many great companies on our run. We branched our social media into Facebook, Myspace,YouTube, and Twitter, and those were the best desicions we've made. Our reviewers are the hardest set of people i have ever met. We stay up all night writing back and forth about great products. Our reviewers are moms, single ladies, even some high schoolers. We believe that everyone has a point of view, and so should our reviewers."

"We mainly market to moms and women in general," she continues. "We understand they are the prime shoppers in the household, and making the majority of the shopping decisions. What Barefoot Mommies does not endorse are any items not family friendly, or are religious or political in nature. We prefer to stay away from subjects or products that would offend anyone or tarnish our name."

Check out BarefootMommies.com for the latest fun products and e-mail Media@BarefootMommies.com if you would like to be featured on the blog.

Ladybug Birthday

Ladybugs and butterflies are timeless when it comes to little girls and birthdays. So with spring just around the corner, here's a fun and easy craft to help us celebrate. These ladybug headbands are simply adorable, great for bugs and butterflies party favors or pretend play, take no time to make and are only about $3 each.

Here's what you'll need:

    * ¾ inch (at least) headband
    * ¾ inch ribbon, grosgrain is shown
    * pipe cleaner (one for straight antenna and two for curly)
    * pom poms
    * glue gun

And here's how you make them:

   1. Bend your pipe cleaner in the center and then again about a half inch on both sides so that you have a inch to inch-and-a-half base. Apply the base of your pipe cleaner to the middle of the headband with a strip of hot glue. (TIP: If you want curly antenna, use two pipe cleaners. Curl one end around your finger and bend the ends about ¾ inch to apply to the headband.)
   2. Bend the tips of your pipe cleaner outward about a ¼ inch and hot glue on your pom poms.
   3. Clip two one inch sections of ribbon to cover the ends of your headband. Apply each piece with a dot of glue on both sides.
   4. Apply a dot of glue on the inside of the headband, on top of the ribbon you just placed to cover the ends, and wrap your ribbon around in a straight line to cover any exposed headband. Continue to wrap your headband angling your ribbon with each turn and gluing as you go.
   5. When you reach the pipe cleaner, get your ribbon as close to it as possible and then overlap it on the opposite side being careful not to leave exposed headband.
   6. Keep going until you've covered the entire headband and end your ribbon on the inside.

If you're more of a visual learner, here's our how to video that also includes a wing craft:

 

Happy Crafting!